MALE, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Maldives received more than 5,100 tourists on Monday, the highest daily record yet for 2021, local media reported.

This is compared to a daily average of some 5,000 tourists before the COVID-19 pandemic, and of 3,000 so far this year.

The island country received 160,000 tourists between Jan. 1 and Feb. 20 this year, who were mainly from India, Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan.

Its Ministry of Tourism aims to attract a total of 1.5 million tourists to the country by the end of this year.